Latest / PAMOJA PODCAST | PAMOJA MINISTRY, A LIFE OF CHRIST INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES / The House in the Middle of the Forest – Conversation 12 | Part III: Why We Open the Windows
Transcript
- 0:00Welcome to Pamoja Podcast, a ministry of Life
- 0:03of Christ International Ministries, the place
- 0:06where stronger lives are built, faith is strengthened,
- 0:10hearts are encouraged, and Christ -centered homes
- 0:13are shaped through ordinary conversations that
- 0:16become extraordinary encounters with God's truth.
- 0:20One conversation, one story, one revelation at
- 0:25a time. In our previous conversations, we discovered
- 0:31that every house has windows. We learned that
- 0:34houses rarely collapse because of the storms
- 0:37outside. They collapse because of what is allowed
- 0:40to enter. Then we met the traveler. He never
- 0:43forced the door open. He was welcomed. He left,
- 0:47but his voice remained. Today, I want to ask
- 0:50a different question, one that may be uncomfortable,
- 0:54one that every husband and wife Every believer
- 0:57and every family should honestly answer Why do
- 1:01we open the windows because if we never answer
- 1:04that question? We'll spend our lives repairing
- 1:08broken glass Without ever understanding why it
- 1:11keeps breaking I've never met a couple who stood
- 1:15before the altar saying one day will destroy
- 1:19this marriage I've never met a believer who woke
- 1:22up saying today. I want to drift away from God
- 1:26It doesn't happen that way. People don't usually
- 1:29choose destruction. They choose relief. They
- 1:32choose comfort. They choose understanding. They
- 1:35choose attention. They choose escape. And somewhere
- 1:39along the way, the window opens. Think about
- 1:43it. A person doesn't usually begin an inappropriate
- 1:48relationship because they wanted adultery. Many
- 1:52begin because they wanted someone to listen.
- 1:54Someone to understand. Someone to notice them.
- 1:59The relationship wasn't the first step. The unmet
- 2:02need was. The enemy simply found an open window.
- 2:07Sometimes, the window opens because of disappointment.
- 2:12Something happened inside the house. A promise
- 2:15was broken. Words were spoken. Trust was damaged.
- 2:19Instead of bringing the pain into the light,
- 2:22we quietly carry it. Then someone else notices.
- 2:26Someone asks, are you okay? And because our heart
- 2:29has been waiting to be heard, we begin speaking,
- 2:34not realizing that every conversation is opening
- 2:38the window a little wider. Sometimes the window
- 2:43opens through comparison. You look at another
- 2:46marriage, another family, another ministry, another
- 2:50life. Social media becomes a gallery of everyone's
- 2:54highlights while you're living through your ordinary
- 2:57Tuesday Comparison whispers you deserve better
- 3:01You settled you're missing out. It doesn't shout
- 3:05it suggests and Suggestions have started many
- 3:09storms Sometimes we open the window because we're
- 3:14tired spiritually tired emotionally tired physically
- 3:19tired This is why Jesus invited the weary to
- 3:22come to him. Not because weariness is sin, but
- 3:27because weariness makes us vulnerable. A tired
- 3:31guard is more likely to leave the gate unattended.
- 3:36I've also learned that loneliness is dangerous,
- 3:39not because being alone is sinful. Jesus often
- 3:43withdrew to lonely places to pray, but there
- 3:47is a difference between solitude with God and
- 3:50isolation without him. Isolation begins convincing
- 3:55us that no one understands us. Then the first
- 3:59person who seems to understand us becomes unusually
- 4:03important. Again, the enemy didn't create the
- 4:07loneliness. He simply stood near the window,
- 4:10waiting. This reminds me of King David. Many
- 4:14people say David fell because of Bathsheba. I
- 4:17don't think that's where it began. The Bible
- 4:20says, in the spring, at the time when kings go
- 4:23off to war, David remained in Jerusalem. The
- 4:27first window opened before he ever saw Bathsheba.
- 4:30He was somewhere he wasn't supposed to be. One
- 4:33decision. One evening. One rooftop. One glance.
- 4:38One conversation. One family forever changed.
- 4:43Windows are rarely opened all at once. They are
- 4:46opened inch by inch. Perhaps you're listening
- 4:50today and you recognize yourself somewhere in
- 4:54this conversation. Maybe your window is an immorality.
- 4:59Maybe it's resentment. Maybe you've been replaying
- 5:02the same offense for years. Maybe you've quietly
- 5:05withdrawn from your spouse. Maybe comparison
- 5:09has stolen your gratitude. Maybe disappointment
- 5:12has convinced you that no one cares. If that's
- 5:15you, don't feel condemned. Feel invited. Because
- 5:21Jesus doesn't merely point out the open window.
- 5:24He walks into the room to help you close it.
- 5:29One of the most beautiful truths in scripture
- 5:31is this. God never asks us to pretend the window
- 5:35isn't broken. He asks us to bring it to Him.
- 5:39The grace of God doesn't ignore broken glass.
- 5:43It restores it. So before we talk about which
- 5:47windows need guarding, we must first understand
- 5:50why we walk toward them. Because healing doesn't
- 5:54begin with behavior. Healing begins in the heart.
- 5:59Next time, we'll identify the specific windows
- 6:03that most often threaten a covenant. The window
- 6:06of words, the window of comparison, the window
- 6:10of influence, the window of offense, the window
- 6:14of secrecy, the window of entertainment. And
- 6:17we'll discover that every window has one question
- 6:20attached to it. What are you allowing to enter
- 6:23your house? Until next time, remember this. People
- 6:28rarely open windows because they hate their house.
- 6:31They open them because something inside the house
- 6:34is longing for relief. And when Christ becomes
- 6:38the one who meets that deepest need, the windows
- 6:41no longer become an escape. They become something
- 6:45we gladly guard.